Report: USC forward Jacob Cofie to withdraw from 2026 NBA Draft, return to school

USC forward Jacob Cofie is reportedly withdrawing from the 2026 NBA Draft with the intent to return to school. Draft Express’ Jonathan Givony reported the news on Tuesday night.

Cofie had turned heads recently when he put on a show at the NBA G League Combine. That performance earned him an invite to the NBA Combine, where he continued to impress.

Givony reported that the Trojans’ star had “an eye-opening two days in Chicago,” earning him a shot at the NBA Combine. After two years in school, Cofie was one of 44 players invited to participate in the AWS NBA G League Combine this year.

Cofie logged 32 starts for USC this season, starring in the frontcourt. The 6-foot-10, 231-pound prospect averaged 9.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.8 blocks per game.

As a sophomore in 2025-26, Cofie logged five double-doubles. He had 16 games in double-figure scoring, while he logged double-digit rebounds in eight contests. He had several impressive individual outings.

Cofie scored 21 points and pulled down 10 rebounds in a win over Washington State. He also logged 15 rebounds and 13 points in a close loss to then-No. 5 Purdue. He also went for 15 points and 10 rebounds in a game against Rutgers.

USC, though, struggled a bit. Cofie didn’t get a chance to show what he could do on the game’s biggest stage, as the Trojans missed the Big Dance, finishing 18-14 on the season and 7-13 in Big Ten play.

Of note, Cofie was not the only USC underclassman to appear on the NBA’s early entrant draft list. But another player has already reached his NBA Draft decision. And the two will link up again next season.

Alijah Arenas to return to USC

While the Trojans are certainly thrilled to get Cofie back, they were equally ecstatic to learn that Alijah Arenas quickly opted out of the NBA Draft after initially putting his name in for consideration. That change of heart was reported at the end of April.

“News: Alijah Arenas will withdraw from the NBA draft and return to USC, a source says,” Ryan Kartje of the Los Angeles Times wrote on Twitter. “That’s big news for Eric Musselman and the Trojans.”

Injuries kept Arenas from playing a full season. But once he was healthy, he played a big role.

Musselman instantly threw Arenas into the starting lineup, starting him in 13 of the final 14 games. Arenas put up 14.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game. He was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week after going for 29 points against Illinois and 24 against Penn State.